June 1979

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

           Greetings from Switzerland to the small flock scattered on the face of this earth.

           Mr. Cole, who is now among us, asked me to write this letter.

           The Feast of Pentecost was, for all of us who gathered in Lausanne, a most memorable Feast. God greatly blessed us by delivering, through His servant, most inspiring and convincing messages which strengthened our faith—the ingredient which we need so preciously to live an acceptable life before God and go through the difficulties and trials which lie in front of us.

           What a blessing, brethren, to be able to gather in unity and joy, to be strengthened while God is working in us through the power of His Holy Spirit to bring about the necessary changes in our own lives so that we can all be replete with humility—such an attitude being possible only when God's Holy Spirit lives abundantly in us.

           The great majority of God's people did not realize that their rejection of the true day of Pentecost was the successful achievement of Satan's cohorts who had been given the following instructions:

You did a good job in the whole world. Now concentrate your efforts upon God's people. The task won't be easy, for these people have a thousand reasons to show themselves thankful to God. Upon the acceptance of Jesus Christ—the Word of God personified—they have become the recipients of great blessings. They know the way which leads them unto Eternal Life. Further, their standard of living has improved notably. Their welfare is unhoped-for. If their pursuit remains unaltered, they will be chosen to replace us and sweep all physical and mental sufferings from this world.

God has blessed His people and given them great opportunities. They proclaim the good news of God's Kingdom. They announce that our own government is going to be destroyed. God also gave them His Holy Spirit as a source of inspiration to lead them into Truth; and, thereby, they become stronger year after year. Therefore, we must, at all costs, detract these people from recognizing all these divine blessings. Otherwise, they will become more and more obedient to God's way of life—they will honor Him with constant praise, and failure will be our ultimate fate.

Therefore, have recourse to any conceivable means!

Let their physical welfare—these blessings of God—become a pitfall!

Have these people believe that greater prosperity and luxury necessarily secures deeper happiness. Let them become engaged in a frantic pursuit of money and have only one ideal in life to gain more in order to enhance their prestige. By so doing, you will cause them to depart from the One to whom they owe everything.

Thus, these people will lose the way of salvation. Their relationship with God will belong to the past; to them spiritual things will become secondary. We shall use God's name as a front to deceive those who want to tenaciously cling to the way which was given to them.

Above all, destroy the godliness of heart and the meaning of the Holy Days. Let these people believe that for almost forty years God has led them into error. You, my learned servants, must convince them that the true day for keeping Pentecost is Sunday. As a result of forsaking what was given to them, the so-called chosen of God will separate themselves from the source of all life; their purpose will become blurred; their existence will become devoid of good sense; they will become beings prompted by a spirit of strife and deprived of conscience and perspicacity; they will blindly accept any change of the way of life which made them so prosperous, wise, and intelligent before the nations. They will eventually become our subjects—they will lie and deceive to gain more, they will give themselves up to physical and spiritual adultery and fornication. They will sacrifice marital harmony, teaching of children, moral duty, and accomplishment of physical and spiritual responsibilities. They will become clothed in total selfishness and deliberately become insensitive to the tragedies of others. Thus, they will lose the love which they had towards one another—the trait which has characterized them in this world. And all their efforts will become totally selfish.

We shall have fulfilled our purpose: family life and instruction derived from this unique revelation will be destroyed; love, righteousness, and friendship will have become mere words. Everything will sink into disorder, out of which we shall finally be able to establish our reign.

However, demons, be on guard against these people! For some may react very unexpectedly. Through whatever means necessary, do not allow them to turn to the One to whom they owe everything—by recognizing their own defects and responsibilities. Blind them through prosperity and physical successes so that they will not be aware of our ultimate intent. For a remnant might be able to find again its stability, its direction, and the path which will lead it unto Eternal Life.

Therefore, demons, be diligent and expeditious in your deceptive efforts!

           Yes, brethren, day after day Satan and his instruments attempt to take our lives while we want to do our best to obey God.

           But God is not going to forsake us as long as we remain obedient to Him and let Christ live His life in us; then, the dramatic circumstances which are extant in this world or in the present Church of God will not affect in any way this close relationship—made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit only—between God and those who want to honor and remain faithful to Him. As it is written in Romans 8:35–36: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

           Why such conditions?

           Merely because Christ living in us wants us to be instruments of peace. He wants us to love where hate raged, and respond to insult with forgiveness, to troubles and doubts with faith, to despair with hope, to darkness with light, to sadness with joy. Christ, our Master living in us, gives us the will to comfort rather than to be comforted, to understand rather than to be understood, to love rather than be loved. For, it is by forgiving that we are forgiven and it is by giving our lives totally—by dying—that we shall be born into Eternal Life.

           Brethren, the life of Christ is such a beautiful picture! And we are His workmanship (Eph. 2:10). We live in a time during which God will try us. He wants to know our determination, our character, our loyalty, our continuity in obedience, confidence and faithfulness to all His promises. Such a test requires patience on our part. Let us be patient, brethren, and let us not grow weary in well doing. Through the severity of trials and difficulties with which we will be confronted—while patiently waiting for the coming of our Savior—let us all be thankful for being chosen to carry the torch of this Way of Life which becomes brighter and brighter as we live more perfectly the pure and unadulterated teachings which we were given. Let us practice and fully live, through trials, the very life of Jesus Christ. By so doing, we shall be, some day, the benefactors of humankind whom God will be able to use in His Kingdom. Further, all aggressive efforts of Satan and his demons will have been rendered useless. In fact, by them, positive benefits will result to those who are exercised thereby.

           Therefore, let us all be courageous! While being purified through sufferings, we must love and cherish the Truth of God.

           Thank you for your perseverance.

           Thank you for your affection.

           Thank you for your prayers.

           We love you and also pray for you.

           Your French-speaking brothers and sisters greet you.

With all our affection and our deepest respect,

Jean Aviolat

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